Fandom

You know what I love to do when I’m bored? I go on Youtube/Netflix and search for all the old TV shows I used to watch and love. I still love them to this day, even if I look on some differently! I’m going to start with a few from my childhood to this day.

Let’s see who else remembers these!

Childhood

Babar:

To this day I still find this show relaxing to watch! What other shows can you remember that was all about an elephant royal family and their subjects, subtly teaching you about the species! I didn’t realise as a kid that Babar lost his mother to a hunter!

It’s crazy what you find out when you’re older!

The art style is gorgeous, along with the music. There aren’t many programmes these days that have super detailed designs and thought-provoking plots! I saw a quick glimpse of the updated version and nope…just nope.

Animals of Farthing Wood:

I blame this incredible show for making me stop meat and traumatising me every week. You couldn’t help but loving it though! It was like Babar in the fact that it had talking animals, gorgeous art/music and taught you some super important lessons about looking after nature.

I still don’t forget the ‘crossing the busy road’ episode.

THAT SCARRED ME! *sob*

PB & J Otter:

Is anyone sensing a pattern of my favourite TV shows as a kid? Yep, another one all about talking animals! This was one of the first ever cartoons I watched on Disney Channel and I find myself humming the theme song every now and again.

The 90s made some super catchy intros.

It definitely wasn’t as serious as the first two shows but it still had some lessons that kids could learn. Being kind, being nice to siblings, not listening to strangers.

Knightmare:

This is a classic show that I only discovered when it came on the channel ‘Challenge’! I’d heard of the theme before but had been too young to understand what was going on. It wasn’t until repeat episodes that I started to love! If you’re super young, then here’s a little Dee run-down:

You get a team of youngsters who enter Knightmare Castle and have to successfully make it through challenges without dying! You have a ‘Dungeoneer’ who wears the Helmet of Justice. The helmet is basically a blindfold that prevents them seeing their surroundings. That’s when their team-mates/advisers come in. They have to guide the Dungeoneer away from danger, answer riddles, cast spells and find items to replenish their life-force.

You lose that, you die and lose!

Youtube actually did a small remake with some Youtubers a few years and it was awesome!! Anything with Dan&Phil is awesome!

Animal Ark:

We might as well carry on with the animal loving shows! I didn’t automatically love this from watching the TV show. I’d actually read the books before it! They were perfect and I was 10 when the show came! It also introduced me to a future Magizoologist!

That’s right: Eddie Redmayne!!

Eddie’s first ever TV role was an episode called Bunnies In Bathroom and I thought he was gorgeous even then! One way to introduce myself to hormones! Haha!

Post-Childhood

Goodnight Sweetheart:

Okay, who remembers this?! It only finished in 2016 but first started all the way back in 1993!!

Who can’t love being able to go back in time?! A guy called Gary Sparrow is living in London during the 90s when he finds a time portal to the 40s in the same place. He has to pretend that he’s from that time while going back and forth and keeping everything hidden from both women he loves.

Typical cheesy drama but it has such sweet moments!

Hetty Wainthropp Investigates:

You literally cannot deny that anything Patricia Routledge is in is gold! She’s such an incredible actress and loved seeing her in a more serious role after ‘Keeping Up Appearances’.

There’s even a young Hobbit in this show!

If you’ve watched the Lord of the Ring films or Lost, then you’ll know Dominic Monaghan! He’s a baby-faced 20 year old and is super adorable!! Who knew that he would end up going from Lancashire to Middle-Earth in a few short years?! He’s going to be a film this year with Mel Gibson so that should be interesting!

Noel’s House Party:

This has such a special place in my heart because it was something I used to watch with my parents every Saturday night! Back when Saturdays were the best days of the week!

The show was based in a fictional place called Crinkly Bottom and there were celebs that pretended to be residents of the village. You had amazing games such as Grab a Grand, Wait Until I Get You Home and the infamous Grunge Tank!

You can blame this show for the abomination that is Mr Blobby! I still have 0 clue how he was created and why but yeah! Haha!

Animal Hospital:

If you ignore the fact that Rolf Harris was the presenter, I adored this show so much! I’ve always loved animals and that included any shows that had them in it! There was Pet Rescue on Channel 4 and Animal Hospital on BBC 1! It’s a surprise that I didn’t become a vet in the end.

Loved seeing the adorable animals, the vets at work and the theme tune (as always!)

I keep telling you: 90s was the decade of the best themes!

I could be here for ages writing about all the TV shows that I’ve loved but we’d be here for a long time!

What are you favourite TV shows of all time? Has your taste changed over the years?

You might care or you might not but, for those of you who do, Percy Jackson is going to be turned into a series on Disney+!! I have been waiting so long for these books to be given a second chance. I don’t blame the cast in the Percy Jackson films because their acting was really good! It was just the bad writing. Logan Lerman made a great Percy and I would totally have cast him if he was young enough.

Since Nick Rhiordan (the author) is going to be working alongside the team, we don’t have to worry. He’ll make sure that the series sticks close to his series!

Hearing the news made me think of a particular question: who would I cast in the new Percy Jackson series?

If you haven’t read the books or seen the films, here’s a quick rundown for you!

There are so many characters I could chat about and, since we don’t know if it’s starting from the start, I’m going to focus on some of the main people. Of course I’ll be including Nico in this because he’s a dark, forboding boy who deserves all the love!

Percy Jackson

We have to start with the title character himself!

There has been bits of contraversy over his previous casting. In the books he is meant to be 12 years old and in 6th grade, but Logan was 17/18 when he played him. A little bit of an age jump! If we are starting from the start, I really hope they use an actor that is around 12/13!

I guess it depends on the success of the show when it comes out if the cast are going to grow up with it. Disney shows always tend to be 2 seasons long unless they’re popular. Who knows! This fangirl definitely can’t see into the minds of the Disney bosses!

Choice: Jacob Tremblay (Wonder/Doctor Sleep)

I reckon Jacob has great experience already at 13 to handle being Percy, both the comedy and the drama!

Annabeth Chase

Okay, moving onto the Daughter of Athena: Annabeth!

For me, whoever plays her has to be able to show Annabeth’s intelligence and sass. I mean…she ends up calling Percy ‘Seaweed Brain’ in the first book. She also needs to help us believe that she’s been at Camp Halfblood for a while!

Choice: Indi Star (Henry Danger)

For me, Indi would make a great Annabeth! She’s 13 so in perfect range, blonde and I loved her performances in Henry Danger! She’s still a relative newcomer so I reckon the Percy Jackson series would be a great step-up for her!

Grover Underwood

This is a real tricky one for me!

Grover is a satyr so he literally could have anyone playing him! I remember seeing that he was brown-haired and biologically looked 16. He is really 33 but we all know he acts younger. There are so many talented teen actors who might be the one to play one of my favourite characters. They obviously have to be good at comedy because Grover has some amazing lines in the books, but show that he has conflicted emotions.

Poseidon

We all know who Poseidon is.

God of the sea, has a trident, son of Kronos and Rhea! He’s also Percy’s dad (though Percy doesn’t know that straight away). I had to have a good think about who could possibly play him and what age. Who could realistically look like that they could have a 12 year old child.

There’s only a few people who came to mind and I hope at least one person agrees with me.

If only we could have Logan Lerman has Poseidon! That would be amazing but he’s way too young. Hopefully he gets a cameo somewhere in the series as someone!

There are so many characters throughout the books that this post would be drag-on for ages. If you want to know who else I’d cast in the series, just ask. I have them physically written down in a list! I think it’s going to be a while before we even get an inkling of the series due to the pandemic, but we have hope.

We got the news and that’s the biggest step! Now we just need this dumb Covid-19 to disappear so we can fangirl/boy over Percy Jackson all over again!!

Considering that I’m 95% fangirl, it’s no surprise that I’m a lover of many fandoms. One fandom in particular is called RWBY! If you’ve never heard of it, then let me give you a brief overview:

In the supernatural universe of Remnant, four strong girls are training to become Huntresses, which are humanity’s only hope of defeating the shadowy and threatening creatures known as Grimm.

Some of you might think that the word ‘Grimm’ sounds familiar and you’d be right. RWBY is based loosely on some of the characters we see in the Grimms’ Fairy Tales. We have Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Snow White and more. There is so much that happens in the show that I literally would be here discussing it forever. That’s why the official companion would explain it all better! Haha!

All of this was the dream brain-child of its creator, Monty Oum, with the help from Rooster Teeth!

If you’ve had the vision of something truly epic that wouldn’t stop bugging you until you brought it to life, then I reckon that was what RWBY was like to Monty. It had two other co-creators in Kerry Shawcross and Miles Luna but this was all Monty!

…It was here, in this buzz of adrenaline and inspiration, that Monty had a dream he just couldn’t shake…He started describing his vision of RWBY: the colours, the names, the girls, how [the title] would be initials but pronounced like ‘ruby’.

He knew what he wanted to make, and we had faith in him to do it.

Unfortunately Monty only got to see 3 volumes of his creation. He passed away on February 1st 2015 due to a severe allergic reaction in a routine medical procedure. He was only 33.

RIP Monty.

Okay, so if the whole incredible ideas haven’t taken in your fancy and you’re looking for a little more fantasy, never you worry! Did you know that the show starts off at a school for hunters and huntresses called Beacon Academy? No! There you go!

It’s like if Harry Potter had specially designed weapons instead of wands!! The world of Remnant (where everything is based) just has a way of capturing your imagination and the characters your heart.

What I love so much about the official companion is that you could literally have no clue what RWBY is about and, by the end of the book, you’ll know everything and more. It really gives you a true in-depth sight into how everything is made from character designs, fight choreography and even animation! The world is just so vast and I’ve always been curious about a number of things.

You think you know everything and then BAM! More details you had no clue about! There are a bunch of characters that I fangirl over every time I see them being mentioned such as Professor Ozpin, Oscar Pine, Team JNPR, Tyrian and Team CFVY (Coffee).

It might be April but it’s still early 2020 in my eyes! Seeing as I’ve been watching and re-watching different TV shows/films, it got me wondering: which things are turning 20 this year? You’ve got to love an even number! I did a bit of research and I’m now thoroughly feeling old!

There are 12 things turning 20 that you might be stunned about!

It only feels like yesterday that they were new! Let me know which of these that you remember seeing/owning back in 2000!

Billy Elliot

To this date, Billy Elliot has to be my favourite film of all time!

I had never watched a film like this before and it really hoped up my eyes to what the 80s were like. I never knew boys could be ballet dancers and was only just understanding about LGBTQ+ issues. It is a serious film but it also has the best comedy moments ever!

Every scene that had Jamie Bell and Julie Walters was perfect, grown-up Michael seeing Billy’s dad at the ballet and Billy’s grandma! She was a really funny lady! RIP to Jean Heywood who died last year!

I guess we can even thank the film for bringing us Tom Holland in the West-End cast! Haha!

Gilmore Girls

Now this was a show I couldn’t believe was one of the things turning 20! It doesn’t seem like it was that long since I felt jealous over Rory’s life and was introduced to the gorgeousness that is Jared Padalecki!

I think it feels more recent since we had the slight reboot on Netflix not long ago. That and I’ve clearly surrounded myself with people who love using gifs from it!

Which of the characters were your favourites?

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

This one isn’t so much of a surprise since we’ve been celebrating 20 years of each Harry Potter book every year! What is shocking is that I remember being at my local book shop at midnight waiting to get it!

This was the latest I had ever been out (I was only 13!) and it was amazing!

I wish kids still got the chance to have these midnight book releases! They bring everyone together, young and old! Who else wishes they could go to the Yule Ball? I know we have the Twitter ball every year and that you can see the decorations at WB Studio Tour, but still!

Dora the Explorer

Hola! Can you say ‘old’? Say ‘old’! Good job!

Woooow! I reckon Dora and Boots have aged well over the last two decades! Not only have they had the original series but a follow-on with her cousin and then the feature film last year!

I loved watching this show as a kid, mostly because I was taking Spanish at school and I was able to use this! Oh, and so many funny memes have coming out of this. I remember one back in 2009 where a Kingdom Hearts cosplay group did ‘Sora the Explorer’. It was so fun and had characters such as Naruto, Kaoru and Hikaru from Ouran High School Host Club and more!

Dark Angel

Okay, who remembers this show?! We had Jared in Gilmore Girls and now we have Jensen Ackles in this show! Unless you’ve watched Supernatural you probably don’t know who these actors are but wow! It only lasted 2 years but was worth it!

It was created by James Cameron (director of Terminator and the Avatar films) and was the show I discovered Jessica Alba! It was all about a female super-soldier escaping from her prison and freeing a bunch like her! Very cheesy sci-fi but fun!

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

Oh I have so memories of watching this show with Mum! We loved sitting back in the evening and watching it on Living TV! It was a bit graphic for me at times but the catchy theme song, Grissom and the slight crush I had on the DNA specialist Greg!

What? I was 13, okay?! Hormones!

As Told By Ginger

This show!! I still remember the tune to the theme song for this and I loved it! It was my first taste of Nickelodeon and I became obsessed with it since these guys also created The Wild Thornberries! A young girl trying to figure out school life, growing up and wrote a diary? Sounded like my life!

Scary Movie

I’m such a coward when it comes to horror films and have only watched 2 in my life! That’s probably why I loved a parody film like this! It was so stupid but had me in pieces! I can remember being absolute stitches when I saw this for the first time and even have it on DVD!

Can anyone else remember when parody films were everywhere?! We obviously had the Scary Movie franchise but also one about superheroes with Drake Bell!

I might have to watch Scary Movie tonight! Haha!

Charlie’s Angels

The funny thing about this film is that I don’t remember the film as much but I do remember Destiny’s Child! Their song ‘Independent Women’ was just super catchy and massive at the time! I still think it is and who knew Beyonce would become the Queen that she is!

The Emperor’s New Groove

The most underestimated out of the Disney films! I don’t know why more people talk about it! It was so much fun and some of the quotes are still being used to this day!

You only have to have to go on TikTok and you’ll find a bunch of people doing quotes from the film like this!! Gotta love Kronk and Yzma!

The Grinch

Another film that TikTok has covered is The Grinch!! I already loved Jim Carey in this film since we all know how expressive he is as an actor and his take on The Grinch was perfect! You laughed at most of his moments but also couldn’t help but feel sorry for the guy!

Now that we’re on lockdown, people are used his ‘I’m booked’ monologue to chat about what they’re doing in self-isolation! I should do one myself!

The Weakest Link

Before we had Pointless and The Chase, we had Anne Robinson with The Weakest Link! Was I the only one who was a little freaked out by her? I had a teacher at school just like her and I swear I was left traumatised! As I got a bit older, I started to enjoy the show more and felt all accomplished if I got any of the answers right!

If you love Youtube, then you might know that AmazingPhil was actually on the show as a contestant at one point! Who else remembers his long hair days?!

Yesterday was the day that all the UK Disney fans had been waiting for! The magical launch of Disney+ on our little island and I never clicked a button fast enough! I, like a lot of people, grew up with the Disney films and I have some incredible memories visiting Disneyworld in 1998! There was something so cool about seeing The Lion King and princesses like Belle!

How many of you preordered Disney+ months ago?!

If I had the funds, I would have but I’m still doing the monthly payouts to watch all of my old and new favourites. Okay, so what were my first thoughts on the site so far?

The first thing I loved was how clear and concise it looked! I’m a bit of an organisation freak and seeing everything set out in clear sections such as original movies, animated movies, Disney Channel favourites and more. I may have squealed on that last section because I saw so many of my childhood shows listed!

I adore how it has gone all the way back to the start of Disney with Steamboat Willie! Who else has the whistle tune stuck in their head? I know I do! I never realised just how many short films they did at the start! If you click search at the top, you get taken to a bunch of collections to check out. One of the first that you’ll see is the ‘Disney through the decades’ collection! If you thought that you’d seen every Disney film made, you’ll be sorely mistaken!

Grab some popcorn while you stay at home and see all the different creations through the decades!

I’ve already watched Stargirl which was both incredible yet confusing! It reminded me a lot of Bridge to Terebithia with a girl completely different to everyone else and a boy trying to figure her out! The songs were incredible and I think everyone will have different interpretations!

I’ve only watched Disney Channel original films in the past so can’t wait to check out other kinds!

Speaking of Disney Channel, this was one of my main channels to watch in the early 00s. The 90s had really introduced me to US kids shows like Sabrina, Clarissa Explains It All and that carried on into the millenium!

My days were full of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Recess, Ducktales, Lizzie McGuire and Wizards of Waverly Place.

Those were the cheesy days!

The important question: what am I going to binge-watching on Disney+ during my self-isolation? There are literally so many films and shows! We’re going to be set for months which is super handy! Here are the picks on my watchlist that are near and dear to my Disney heart (I’ll watch everything on the site soon enough!):

Movies

Moana

Tangled

The Lion King (animated)

Beauty and the Beast (animated & live-action)

Ralph Breaks The Internet

One Day at Disney

The Little Mermaid

The Jungle Book (animated & live-action)

The Aristocats

Brave

Big Hero 6

Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

Like I said, I’m literally going to watch everything and anything on this site! There are so many films I could add to this list but we’d be here all day!

TV Shows

Lizzie McGuire

The Suite Life of Zack and Cody

Suite Life on Deck

Andi Mack

Big Hero 6: The Series

Gravity Falls

Tangled: The Series

Wizards of Waverly Place

The Adventures of the Gummi Bears (MY HEART!!)

Doug (I still have the VHS!)

Kim Possible

Recess

The Imagineering Story

Star Wars Rebels

That’s So Raven

Yeah, you can kind of tell that I was hooked to the Disney Channel on the weekends! There were and still are amazing shows to watch for all ages. You had your fantasy shows, your family shows, your animated shows and the shows that took the first step! I’m looking at you, Andi Mack!!

5th March marks World Book Day and it’s such a fun day for both kids and grown-ups alike.

Every supermarket I’ve been in lately have had some amazing costumes for kids to wear. There was Mary Poppins, Matilda, a Golden Ticket, Alice in Wonderland and Dorothy from Wizard of Oz. They even had some adorable teeny costumes for babies!

I know that adults have fancy dress shops to make costumes but they’re never particular book characters! I mean…half the costumes you see for women in those shops are sexy! Not every woman wants to look like that. Some of us would like to have a nice costume without having to worry about showing much of everything.

That’s why I wanted to come up with some possible World Book Day costumes for grown-ups to wear. Whether they are for teachers, librarians or anyone who works with books.

The great thing about days like these is that you can be super creative with whoever you choose. As long as you give people the book you’re from, you get to let them use their imagination. The fact that we’ve had Mary Poppins Returns means kids will more than likely know who you are. If I could, I would’ve loved to have done Mary in her ‘A Cover Is Not The Book‘ costume! Love that song.

Harry Potter

How I wish my teachers would have done this when I was still at school. I think mine were super boring because they never bothered to dress up and even scolded a few people who dressed up. These days I’ve seen so many incredible pictures of teachers who have dressed up for World Book Day as the teachers from Harry Potter. There are so many you can choose from too!

There have even been some that went as more creative characters such as Moaning Myrtle (toilet seat and all), Fred and George and one of the House mascots! I never thought of going as a badger but I might do that for a convention one day. That’s if I can figure out how!

Never be afraid to think outside the box!

Roald Dahl

I’ve literally seen so many people chatting about doing Roald Dahl characters. He’s never been as popular and I’m loving it!

He wrote legendary characters that both adults and kids alike adore. We’ve all read at least one of his book at some point in our lives. Since there are so many characters to choose, their costumes can be as easy as you want them to be.

Some amazing adult characters to try could be:

Miss Trunchball

Miss Honey

Miss Spider/Mrs Ladybug

Grandpa Joe

Mr Fox

Lord of The Rings

Depending on where you work, I think more people should dress up as characters from J.R.R Tolkien’s books.

You can’t go wrong with either being a badass elf like Arwen or Lady Galadriel or being one of the Hobbits such as Samwise Gamgee. The costumes are a little bit more tricky to do but I reckon it would be a great challenge for anyone who is up to trying.

If you do, let me know so I can fangirl over you!!

Disney

I’ve seen a few who say that people shouldn’t dress up as Disney characters because they’re not from books. At the end of the day, a lot of those characters have either ended up in books or did come from them. Look at Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan!

I adore all things Disney! It’s such a magical fandom to be a part of, you get to visit the kingdoms and you can relate to the characters. I grew up during the 90s when films such as The Lion King, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast came out. It was an amazing time to be a kid and experiencing all of these coming to life. I think I still have The Lion King soundtrack on cassette tape! Haha!

Who could you be? Well…take your pick!

Jessie (Toy Story)

Jane (Tarzan)

Phillip (the guy Robin Williams plays in Flubber)

Rapunzel (Tangled)

Tiana (Princess and the Frog)

There is nothing wrong with dressing up for World Book Day regardless of the fact that we aren’t kids anymore. We read books too and love the characters so embrace your bookish love!

I’m not embarrassed in the slightest that I have been fangirling over Heartstopper! There is something so special about Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper series and people need to read! This is my call to any friends, especially those in the LGBTQ+ community, get Volume 1 and feel all the rainbow feels!

I may have jumped ahead of myself a little.

Kind of saw Alice in person this week at her event for Heartstopper Volume 3 in Nottingham. Yeah…still kind of on a high from that and proud of it.

Since this is a review of the latest volume, I might as well calm myself down a little and give you my honest opinions. This is a continuation following Nick and Charlie’s gentle journey into their relationship. They’ve had quite a few bumps in the road in terms of homophobia bullies (I’m looking at you, Harry!) and Nick trying to understand his sexuality.

It doesn’t matter what these boys go through!

They’re just so in love and I literally feel my heart grow every time I read their moments alone together. You forget that you’re reading a graphic novel and truly feel immersed into their world. It’s so interesting how your brain adds colour to the pictures even when they’re black and white! Alice clearly paints the world with her words!

I can be good with words too, y’know! Haha!

This difference between Heartstopper Volume 3 and the last book is how many different topics are covered! We have depression, sexuality, homophobia, eating disorders and more! I adored how much Alice had me thinking even when the moments got rather dark. I will be honest and say that there were a couple of moments during this where I was triggered and had to step away. It wasn’t that they were super horrifying or anything. I loved them so much! I guess the character going through those moments reminded me of myself and I cried for them.

Just when you think you know what is going to happen, a curveball is thrown at you and you literally can’t turn the page fast enough.

Even though we only get the odd glimpse of her, one of my favourite characters has to be Charlie’s sister Tori. There is something so cool and sassy about her. She says what’s on her mind, doesn’t really if it embarrasses her brother (only sibling banter) and I just love her! I really hope that we get to see more of her in Volume 4 next year because she deserves more paper time!

Other characters I love are Darcy, Tara and Elle. I definitely have to say that Darcy and Tara are just as cute together as Nick and Charlie! They’re always holding hands or sitting in the other’s lap. To see them being so comfortable with who they are after everything is amazing! Plus Darcy is just a big Nick x Charlie shipper!

This above moment had me giggling for a few minutes!

I’d probably say something along the same lines if I knew two of my gay friends had been caught kissing. Nick and Charlie are still super new to being boyfriends and testing the waters. The fact that they’re having a quick snogging session while on a school trip to Paris (the romance capital of the world!) makes me proud of them. They still have a long way to go until they feel more comfortable being open but they’re taking great steps.

Moments that you have to look out for when you read:

Charlie’s reaction to Nick speaking another language

A medical emergency

Two characters finally getting together

Nick and Charlie posting on Instagram (and their comments!)

Oh!! Before I forget: Alice actually has two new books coming out this year which is incredible! They are Nick and Charlie (3rd September) and Loveless (9th July). I can’t wait to preorder my copies next week! We even have the TV show of Heartstopper happening at some point in the future!! Not sure when but I’m already casting people in my mind!

What are your thoughts on Heartstopper Volume 3? Have you read any of the other Heartstopper books?

Sometimes you get a simple version to announce that the book will be published. Sometimes you get the gorgeous cover straight away (Alice Oseman is amazing for this!). Other times you’ll get a book that gets a new cover for their hardback or an update for the paperback! The amount of book covers that Harry Potterhas had is crazy but I still adore all of them!

This post has been inspired by one of my favourite booktubers, HaileyInBookland. She spoke about being a book collector in her last vlog and you should see her Alice In Wonderland collection!

I have to admit that book covers are one of the big reasons for me to pick up a book and look at the synopsis. I’m a visual kind of person so colour, illustrations and gorgeous font always gets my attention. You’ll be surprised to see that I don’t have any of the Potter books on my list. It isn’t that I don’t love all of the covers but these ones really had me captivated!

If you’ve been a follower of my blog for a while then you won’t be surprised to see a couple of LGBTQ+ choices! The pride colours are some of my favourite to see on a cover! They’re just so vibrant and speak volumes on behalf of people who can’t!

What I loved about this particular design, other than the colours, is the fist in the air! It

That to me signifies a person who is celebrating who they are, determined to get their voice across and just has a strong personality! I could be wrong but that’s how it makes me feel!

I mean…look at the design!! It looks so wistful! A person sitting on a bench by themselves and a tree with fallen leaves. It’s only when you see the smudge stain from a tear falling onto ink that you get the connection to the story. I know I related to the title when I saw it mentioned on Holly Bourne’s Twitter. I can think of quite a few times when I’ve publically cried about something.

Whether it be from bullying (crying in the school corridor), losing my mum (crying in the nursing home) or being told bad news (crying on the back seat of a bus).

I’ve been a big fan of Malorie’s ever since I discovered her through ‘Pig Heart Boy’. We were taught about people with differences and bullying through this book and I was always really excited to hear another chapter. After that, I tried to follow a bunch of her other books especially Noughts & Crosses and Chasing the Stars.

Even though I was overly sold on this particular book, I still loved its cover!

The gorgeous pastel colours all blurred, the gold background for the title that reminds me of a supernova and the lines going in circle that also remind me of when you need shooting stars! There is probably a better description of the cover (where are my astrophysicists?) but that’s as much as my mind stretches!

I’ll be honest and admit that I’d never heard of Maggie and her books before today. It wasn’t until I spotted her book covers on the Waterstones website that my interest was piqued.

The reason why this cover is on my list out of the ones I could have chosen should be pretty obvious.

Any guesses?

It looks like Harry’s stag patronus!! The stunning illustration of a stag with blue paintstrokes within it surrounded by ravens is something I would for certain put on my wall. It’s simple yet full of so much detail! I really wish I knew who created this cover so I can fangirl over them! I’ve now got the Raven Cycle on my TBR list to check out so I’ll let you know if I love!

Believe me, my whole list would have been full of books with these covers but I had to kind of draw a line. Don’t worry…I’ll be allowing my little heart to run free for Valentine’s Day! If you have any other books in their genre, I’d love to hear some recommendations! I always want to read more!

This book, like Proud, is based on the personal experiences of someone in the community and that is Lucy. She writes about her experiences of discovering she was gay at 14, trying to figure out where to go next and then meeting her girlfriend Kaelyn. This broke and then glued my heart together when I read!

I already said that I loved the rainbow colours but I also love that blocks of colour are plane tickets! They have little hearts, the London skyline, two girl icons and are just adorable!! It’s amazing when little details are added to the cover and tell you the visual story.

If you haven’t read Lucy’s debut novel, then it’s a must!! It has such an amazing group of characters and, if you read it now, then you’ll be ready for its sequel ‘Read with Pride’ coming out in May!!

Does it have a Pride link to it?

*shuffles* Maybe.

Okay, yes!! I like what I like and proud of that! Haha!

What I love about Paper & Hearts Society is the sheer vibrance of the cover!! As well as being a brilliant bright yellow (my Hufflepuff side was so happy!), it also had little stars and hearts and a young girl sitting on a bench with a pile of books next to her.

Okay, this list should really be titled ‘My Top 8 Favourite LGBTQ+ Book Covers’ because here is another one!

The main character, Tanner, is bisexual so wooo for the bi community!!

Unless you knew what colour were on the bi flag (they’re pink, purple and blue), then you might see some of the cleverness of the cover. It’s obviously upside down but I see the colours there as well as the gorgeous night’s sky! It’s a gorge blending of the colours and the two characters seemingly seem to be standing on a book and a mountain! That’s how it looks to me!

Utah has a lot of snowy mountains, right? I watch ThisIsHowWeBingham and they show lots of snowy mountains on their vlogs!

I might be bias about this cover since I don’t live all that far away from Chatsworth House and there it is on here, but I do have other reasons for loving this version. It catches the romance of the story with the night’s sky and Elizabeth Bennet with Mr Darcy, but it also shows her sass!

She has her back to him and is too busy with her book! That is the fiesty Lizzy we know!

Puffin always seems to make the most beautiful designs so I’m not surprised that I added one of their classics!

Happy Boxing Day! I still have zero clue what meaning this day has but I know it’s a nightmare for my friends in retail. I love getting the chance to be a bit nosy and see what everyone got for Christmas. Even if you don’t celebrate it, I hope you had a great Wednesday anyway.

For the last few years all of the presents I get on the big day are ones that I buy myself. This isn’t as sound as sad as it seems. I have a list of items that I have my eyes on through the year and, if I still like them, I buy. Part of me thought that would be the case this year, but thanks to a Secret Santa and a uni friend, I had surprises!

It was great to feel like a typical Christmas for the first time in a while.

What I got for Christmas (for myself)

I’ve been drooling over this notebook for so many months and I could never justify getting another notebook. However, after almost a year, I just decided to get it! It’s so pretty! I love hardback notebooks! They last super well and the Hufflepuff design looks incredible!

I bought this a few months ago before I knew someone was going to give me a pocket spray of it. This fragrance has such an important meaning to me since it was Mum’s favourite scent. Dad got it for her anniversary and I got carried on at Christmas. I really missed smelling this and it always makes me feel elegant when I wear it. You know the person who randomly smells their clothes to breathe in that nice smell? That’s me! Haha!

Thank you, Hannah!!

‘Live in the Moment’ 2020 Diary (£9.99)

I can’t find the link to this specific diary but WHSmith officially have some of the nicest diaries! I’ve been using their ones for around 10 years now and I’m never disappointed! I love getting the creative covered ones that are bright and hardback. This year I chose to get this quote because I need to learn to live more in the moment and not negatively.

Literally cannot wait to start filling it with all the dates I have for next year. I have a certain way of writing in my diary and it makes me more happy than it should!

With the new series of Doctor Who starting next Wednesday, I think I timed getting this particular Funko Pop perfectly. It doesn’t take much to find out how much I have fallen for Jodie’s Doctor. She is so cool, intelligent, that usual Time-Lady quirkiness and Northern grit!

Got to say I missed a Northern Doctor since the 9th Doctor!

I wish I could have gotten her in her long jacket but I just couldn’t find that one when I was in The Entertainer. I hope to collect another next week for my birthday so fingers crossed I can get it!

This was a gift I got myself during my trip in London to see Ali! We headed into Forbidden Planet so I could look for this book and I almost didn’t get it. We were kind of pushing it a little for time to get my train but we fought! Steven Moffatt had been signing there an hour before and I missed him. I was gutted.

Thankfully a lovely guy who worked at the store pointed me in the right direction. It was even reduced from £28 to £14 so highfive for the fangirl luck. It’s £22 on their website right now! RWBY is an incredible show if you love fairytales, the Brothers Grimm and fantasy. It’s so fun to watch and really has you on the edge of your seat.

What I got for Christmas (from others)

Both of these copies came from my amazing Bookish Secret Santa. It was my first time taking part in it this year and everyone was so nice! We even have a Valentines one planned for next year so that will be super exciting for this spinster! I watched Dumplin’ on Netflix and it was such a heart-warming and thought-provoking film. If you haven’t watched, please go check it out. The sequel Puddin follows the same kind of idea but with someone new and a whole different situation!

Severus Snape Funko Pop (£9.99)

Look who decided to show up at my Christmas! HE’S ALIVE!! You can never go wrong with a Harry Potter Funko as a present. At least in my books!

Ever want to know what the heck your cat keeps meowing at you? This book is going to teach me all the subtle things about what sounds mean in certain situations. Very scientific with the whole looking at phonetics so, Santa, you might confuse me while I read this!

I had wondered what this was when I was received it. The box it was in made me think of a board game at first but I was so happy to see chocolate! I’ve never tried chocolate from this shop before but it looks so yummy! All the different slabs of chocolate are going straight to my thighs!

I’ve never owned a candle this large before so it was a shock to see. Not an unpleasant one! It smells SO good and I can’t wait to burn it throught the year. It’s going to make my place smell gorgeous. I’m super grateful to Santa for getting me this especially with it being called ‘Angel Wings’. Perfect for my parents!

I never expected any presents from anyone I knew. I don’t live anywhere near family so was expecting just me and me alone. However, someone believed that I should be blessed with incredible friends this month. What I got for Christmas is going to last with me for a long time.

Thank you so much to Ali, Gemma and Joe for thinking of me!

I can’t believe I’ve managed to get through another decade. This last decade has been one of the toughest of my life due to losing 4 of my relatives. I also was diagnosed with severe depression & anxiety, had 2 big operations and had me saying goodbye. Though have been many, many heartaches that had me questioning my life, there have been highlights scattered in between.

This won’t be a photo-heavy post at all since I don’t have many photos from the last 10 years. It’s definitely a family thing! I just don’t like having my photo taken much. I want to share what I’m proud of accomplishing so I can begin 2020 with a fresh mind!

2009-2010: Started a nursing degree

That’s right! I was almost a nurse! A Children’s nurse to be exact. I had done an Access to Higher Education course on 2009 and thought that doing the degree would make my mum proud. If you didn’t know, my mum had been a nurse for over 30+ years at this point and I did love children. I was accepting onto a course that only had 4 places available and had had to figure out maths! I am hopeless at maths. I’m not even joking with you…I struggle with multiplication, division and even substraction.

Somehow I was able to pass that exam with ratios and weird sums.

If I started this degree, why am I not a nurse now?

10 months into the course, I chose to leave. It wasn’t an easy decision because I desperately didn’t want to disappoint my mum by being a drop-out but, during an adult placement, I saw something horrific. It involved a child too. I questioned whether nursing was for me for a good few months and my tutors tried to get me to stay. Eventually I decided to go for my mental health.

2011: Started a theatre degree and graduated

In 2011, I started another degree!

I have to thank a friend, who was on the course, for pointing this out to me. I didn’t even know my university had a theatre course until then and it finally gave me freedom! The only career I’ve ever wanted to do from a child is acting. I heard all the usual stuff about how it wasn’t a proper career and that I wouldn’t have a life if I pursued it.

I knooow! Even on the first day of my degree my lecturer told us that 99% of us wouldn’t get any work.

People think theatre must be an easy and relaxing degree compared to the others but it’s actually the opposite. My course had everything included: stage management, script-writing, stage management and more. It was to make us completely ready for the industry! I loved everything about my course even the moments I really struggled. They made us work!

I was the first one on my dad’s side of the family to graduate from uni so I’ll always be proud of that! Being proud of everything I’ve done is a major thing!

2011: Fangirled at the final Harry Potter premiere

Having fangirled at almost all the Harry Potter premieres (except the first two!), I couldn’t not go to the final one for Deathly Hallows: Part 2! I knew that every fan would want to be there so I did what I hadn’t done for the others…I camped overnight. I couldn’t do the week that a few fans did but sleeping out in Trafalgar Square is an experience you don’t get too often.

It was so much fun though!

I was a bit too scared to sleep because I didn’t want to get mugged by anyone who snuck in so I gave Mum a camp chair so she could. It’s amazing how you can ignore how hard concrete is after almost 19 hours. Plus I did make friends with some Potter fans around me! I got interviewed by Radio 1, had my photo in the Evening Standard and had memories to last me a lifetime! It’s crazy to think we said goodbye to the Harry Potter cast this decade, especially since we grew up with them!

2012: Attended the Paralympics

2012 is definitely a moment in the decade that the UK will remember for years!

We got to host the Olympics and Paralympics with London being on the world stage for all to see. I’d actually auditioned and was accepted to be a volunteer at the Opening Ceremony but had to pull out due to life. I remembered being glued to the front of my TV watching all the events I could!

You might not know but I’m a big fan of athletics, swimming/diving and equestrian! There is nothing like the thrill of seeing your favourites trying to win gold!

While everyone else was desperately trying to get tickets for the Olympics, I applied to go and see the Paralympics.

I’ve always been interested in how a person adapts to a situation like sport, whether they had a disability they were born with or had one through an illness/event. Didn’t matter to me one bit. All I wanted to see was the athlete and how they did their thing.

When I heard that I was able to get the tickets to sit in the arena and watch, I was super excited! It had a double motive in that it was also a 60th present to my mum!

One of the incredible things I witnessed was seeing blind athletes doing the triple jump. They had a person at the end of the sand-jump who was there to help them perform. They clapped to get them running to a decent speed and then stopped when it was time to hop, skip and jump. Majority of them landed right in the pit which was incredible! Though one did miss a little bit and knocked one of the officials off his chair!

2013-2016: I started blogging

Who remembers when I was PromptsbyDee?

If you’ve known me for a while, you will. When I first started blogging I was planning to be a theatre/lifestyle blogger. I would chat about what plays I loved, what I’d been to see…basically a super bad version of Carpe Diem Emmie. Theatre is a big love of mine and I genuinely wish that I could see plays super often. However money and life just didn’t let that happen.

That’s why I turned to my other love: fandoms.

Unfortunately I lost that site when my domain and hosting ran out after looking after Mum. Caring took up more of my time so I decided to put blogging aside for a while. It wouldn’t be the last time you saw my face this decade!

2014: Won a competition to see Benedict Cumberbatch’s wax figure unveiled

You see that picture at the top?

That was one from the event and, ever since then, I keep popping up on the odd Madame Tussauds ad. It’s crazy seeing my face scattered around the internet! I googled before writing this post and apparently my ugly mug was on/in:

The Today Show

Madame Tussauds Website

The Metro

Vanity Fair

Wales Online

The Mirror

The Express

I look so awkward!! The girls I knew (Irene and Charlie) look really professional in any shots they’re in. I look a bit like a dork! At least I got to wear a deer-stalker!

2015: Visited Los Angeles

This had been a dream of mine for so many years! I think every actress pictures themselves in Hollywood filming at a studio or attending premieres in Downtown LA. When my mum told me that we could go after not being on holiday for over 14 years, I may have screamed. Not only were we going to LA, we were staying at the Beverly Wilshire right opposite Rodeo Drive.

It was mind-blowing!

I’ll be honest and say that I did cry for the first couple of days due to feeling unbelievably awkward. I felt so out of place compared to the beautiful and rich people I saw around. Thankfully a super lovely lady who worked at the hotel made me feel really special. We chatted, got to see her almost every day and she gifted me a gorgeous red lip gloss from Sephora. She’d been wearing it every time I saw her and I kept saying it looked nice! Haha!

Mum and I felt like stars! Guests at the hotel were able to be personally driven to anywhere we want to within a 4-mile radius and then picked up. IN A FREAKING BENTLEY!! I thought I’d get fined for even breathing funny in that car. The guy was great and gave us great advice on where to check out. My highlight had to be seeing Jennifer Lawrence buying coffee at a place called Urth Cafe! OH MY….I literally stopped breathing at the sight of my girl crush. My decade was everything including her! Hunger Games, memes, her winning an Oscar! She even said thanks when I held the door open since I did automatically without seeing who I was holding it for!

I personally can’t think of any other highlights after this since my world has been pretty dark since then.

If I ever do come up with other highlights for this decade, I’ll add them in.

About Me

Well hello there! I’m Daisy and I’m a Hufflepuff from the UK! If you haven’t guessed, I’m a massive fan of Harry Potter and some other fandoms including books! I try to raise awareness around mental health through personal experiences with my own quirky sense of humour!